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Cool! Heat eases - but mercury will rise again

Stephen Cauchi

Victoria should enjoy a reprieve from harsh bushfire conditions this weekend, with the next hot spell not expected until Thursday.

Country Fire Authority operations manager David Harris said that all of the state's fires were under control, including a 11,890 hectare blaze near Nelson in the state's far south-west, and a 920 hectare fire near Goroke in the Wimmera.

"It's going all right so far ... it probably will be easier this weekend assuming we don't get any huge fire starts today," said Mr Harris.

"We're looking at high fire danger across the state on Saturday and low-to-moderate on Sunday, which makes it a lot easier to contain fires."

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A cool change has already hit Warrnambool and is moving eastward across the state, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The change is due to hit Melbourne at 4pm but the city is still on track for a top of 37 before then, according to senior forecaster Terry Ryan.

Mr Harris said the cool change could bring winds that may spread existing fires or lightning strikes that could spark new ones.

"If one of the big ones breaks away, we might have to spend a fair bit of time chasing that, particularly if it happens around the time of the change," he said.

"But we're pretty confident we'll be able to hold them."

After today, Melbourne is in for a spell of mild weather – 24 and 21 on the weekend followed by 24, 28 and 28. Thursday, however, is expected to reach 37.

The rest of the state is forecast to follow a similar pattern although the Wimmera and Mallee will reach highs in the 30s next week and in the low 40s on Thursday.